Their Place
by Nor of Kiamo Ko
Summary: He had so many memories of that clearing, the one place where they could be themselves together... Peaweed oneshot. Whippedcream fluffy. Rated T, just in case. Dedication inside.


**A/N: This one's for poor, sick Kelsey Rose; hope you feel better soon, hun.**

**Their Place**

**By Nor of Kiamo Ko**

For all Seaweed knew, he and Penny were the only ones who knew about it: the tiny clearing just outside of Baltimore that seemed to be the only place one could see both the lights of the city and the lights in the sky. Almost every night that they could get away from their families was spent lying on their backs in the grass, with Penny watching the stars and Seaweed watching her watch them.

It was the one place they could be together where nothing could come between them, least of all something as trivial as their skin.

Most of the memories he had of their nights in the clearing ran together, but there were a few that stood out…

Like the first night he'd taken her there.

"_Seaweed—Seaweed!" He could hear her calling for him, running along behind him, as she tried to make him come back. Anger clouded his thoughts; he moved faster than he would have if he were calm, and shoved branches away harder than he should have, occasionally getting whacked in the face. That didn't help the wounds that were already there._

"_Seaweed, please, just calm down—where are you going?" He still didn't answer her. "You're going to hurt yourself! Just, please, slow down a little—ow!"_

_He turned around and chuckled, in spite of himself; Penny had tripped over a tree root. She didn't look hurt, only a little disheveled. There were tears in her eyes when she looked up, and he guiltily offered his hand to her when he realized that they probably weren't from her fall._

"_I'm sorry," he said softly as he helped her up._

_She smiled weakly. "It's okay." Her voice broke on the last syllable, but even if it hadn't, he wouldn't have believed her anyway. She looked away so he wouldn't see her eyes well up, but he took her chin in his hand and gently turned her to face him._

"_Hey," he whispered. "You wanna see something?"_

"_Sure," she murmured, still trying not to cry._

"_C'mon, then." He took her hand and slowly continued walking; holding branches out for her like the gentleman he tried so hard to be for her._

_Eventually, they reached the clearing, and Penny gasped. "Oh my goodness…"_

"_Pretty sweet, isn't it?" he grinned. She couldn't reply; she just stared up at the sky with her mouth open, like she was trying to count the stars._

"_I've never seen so many," she whispered._

"_I sometimes come up here to think. You know, when things start to get tough."_

_Penny tore her eyes away from the night sky and gave him a serious look. "Seaweed… what happened back at the bowling alley…" Stepping closer, she lightly traced the bruise that was forming on his cheek. "Those boys… they were just saying words. They weren't really—"_

"_No," he interrupted her, "they were _calling _you words. Words that you are just plain too good to be called."_

"_But you didn't need to fight with them!" she snapped as her eyebrows knit, a sure sign that she was getting angry. "You could've walked away or… or _said _something to them instead of just jumping on them!"_

"_No, I couldn't have 'said something,' because they wouldn't have listened! And I couldn't just walk away when they were talking to you like that. They had no right."_

"_You…" She squeezed her eyes shut, thinking better of what she was about to say, and he noticed that her eyelashes were wet. _

"_Seaweed," she sighed, "I… I get scared for you. I get worried that one of these days, someone's going to… really hurt you… and I don't know what I'd do without you here." Her tears were coming faster now, and she couldn't breathe without gasping._

_His arms were around her before either of them could realize it. "Shhh, baby, don't cry, nobody's gonna hurt either of us. Hush now, it's okay…"_

_Eventually, she stopped crying and slowly wrapped her arms around him. _

"_I love you."_

"_I love you too, baby."_

There were happier memories, too.

"_Seaweed, where are you taking me?"_

_It was a few years after their first visit to the clearing. Penny and Seaweed were fresh out of college and he had something he wanted to ask her. He was leading her through the forest again… but this time, she was blindfolded, and he was being a bit gentler with the branches. _

"_We're here." He removed the blindfold as they entered the meadow. _

"_Oh… I remember this place." She smiled and looked up. "I still can't believe how many there are," she murmured._

_He grinned at her a little nervously. "Well… it just gets better." He took her hand, cleared his throat, and started to speak. _

"_Penny… there just aren't words for how much I love you." He stroked her hand softly with his thumb. "Look up." She obviously didn't want to tear her eyes away from his face. "Go on, look up."_

_She bit her lip and obliged. "Good girl. See how huge the night sky is? How bright the stars are? How beautiful it is up there?" She looked back down at him and nodded, looking a little bit confused._

"That_ is how big and bright and beautiful my love for you is. I can't promise you the stars, Penny… but I can promise that I'll be by your side forever, still as in love with you as I am now."_

_Seaweed slowly dropped down to one knee, and Penny gasped._

"_Penelope Lou Pingleton… will you marry me?"_

_Her eyes filled with tears. "Oh Seaweed… yes. Yes, yes,_ yes!_" She sat down on the grass next to him and threw her arms around his neck, kissing him happily._

_He stood up without letting go of her, and wished that this moment could just stay the same forever…_

He didn't wish that anymore. If time had stopped at that moment, it wouldn't be their wedding night; they wouldn't be standing here in this clearing, both barefoot; he wouldn't be in just his white shirt and tuxedo pants, and Penny wouldn't be wearing her amazing white dress, all other unnecessary items discarded in the dewy grass; they wouldn't be dancing slowly to no music. He wouldn't be watching the starlight play in her hair, and she wouldn't be smiling at him like she was…

If time had stopped then, a million memories made in _their place_--some of them created on that very night--would have never existed.


End file.
